Judiciary committed to protecting students' right to peaceful protest: CJI Surya Kant

CJI Surya Kant said courts will protect students' right to peaceful protest, while also explaining limits on collegium transparency and backing mandatory court apprenticeships for law students.

In Short

• Surya Kant engaged students in an unfiltered question-and-answer session at CNLU
• He said collegium disclosures could undermine dignity of judges under consideration
• The discussion referenced Delhi protests over alleged NEET paper leaks

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday said the judiciary is committed to protecting students’ fundamental right to peaceful protest and will not “look the other way” when the right is violated.

The CJI made the remarks during an “unfiltered interaction” with students at Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) in Patna, where he said he preferred a frank question-and-answer session.

According to a CNLU statement, a student asked about the police response to peaceful student protests. The question referred to protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over alleged NEET exam paper leaks, which were spearheaded by the Cockroach Janata Party.

The CJI said courts would not ignore cases involving alleged police repression and “unequivocally reaffirmed” the judiciary’s commitment to safeguarding students’ right to peaceful protest.

Another student asked why dissenting opinions within the collegium were recorded but not made public.

Responding to the question, the CJI said disclosure, even when well-intentioned, could place the person under consideration in an “untenable position”. He said transparency has limits when an individual’s dignity is involved.

“How can a chief justice or a judge continue to work if a negative observation about him is included in the collegium’s minutes?” he asked.

The CJI visited the CNLU campus along with Patna High Court Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao, who is also the university’s Chancellor, according to the statement.

The university said the interaction assumed significance in light of recent opposition to the CJI at NALSAR Hyderabad and NLSIU Bengaluru.

During the interaction, the CJI also welcomed a proposal by CNLU Vice Chancellor and jurist Faizan Mustafa to restructure the five-year law degree into four years of academic study followed by a mandatory court apprenticeship in the fifth year.

According to the proposal, this could eliminate the separate one-year practice requirement for candidates appearing for judicial service examinations.

- Ends